The foundation of Apple, the original partnership agreement also included a lesser-known third co-founder —Ronald Wayne. Wayne exited the company quietly soon after its launch and maintains that he has no regrets about the decision.

Apple was founded around 50 years ago in a California garage by the three co-founders. College dropouts but tech geniuses Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak each took a 45% stake, while Wayne was awarded a 10% stake. Wayne was an engineer at Atari when Jobs recruited him to help persuade Wozniak to start a computer company. Wayne, who was 41 years old then, was significantly older than Jobs and Wozniak, who were in their early 20s. Wayne wrote Apple’s first partnership agreement and designed the logo.

However, within 12 days after Apple’s foundation, Wayne walked out. Concerned about the financial risk associated with the new partnership, Wayne sold his 10% stake for $800 and later received an additional $1,500 to formally forfeit any future claim to the company.
Why Apple Co-founder Robert Wayne has no regretsToday, Apple boasts a market cap of nearly $4 trillion. The 10% stake that Wayne sold for $800 in 1976 could theoretically be worth more than $400 billion today. However, Waye has no regrets.

“My success has never been defined by money,” the 91-year-old Wayne said in an emailed statement to Fortune. “It has been defined by acting with clarity, integrity, and sound judgment, given what I actually knew at the time. My perspective has become much clearer over the past year as I came to understand how far the public narrative has drifted from the facts,” he wrote.

Back in 1976, Apple was far from a valuable bet. Steve Jobs had taken out a $15,000 loan to fulfil the company’s first order from a Bay Area computer store. Wayne, who later described himself as the only “adult” among the three co-founders, already owned a house, car, and personal assets. He feared these could be seized if the business failed, which led to his exit.

Apple was initially set up as a partnership, not a corporation. All three founders were personally responsible for any debts. Having experienced a previous business failure, Wayne walked out, marking one of the most expensive early exits in tech history.

Later in the 1990s, Wayne sold his original Apple partnership document for $500. The same historic document was later auctioned for over $1.6 million and eventually sold again for $2.5 million.
Apple’s third co-founder’s warning to young entrepreneursEntrepreneurship has increasingly become popular among the younger generations, with nearly 38% of graduates in 2025 and 2026 saying that they are considering launching their own startups, according to ZipRecruiter’s most recent Graduate Report, cited by Fortune. However, Wayne advised caution.

“Understand exactly what you are agreeing to, particularly in a general partnership, where liability is not limited to your ownership percentage. Each partner can be held responsible for the full amount of any obligation,” he told Fortune, adding that while the upside in a business can be limitless, so can be the downside.

“Understand your risk in practice, not just on paper. Have counsel. And never assume your exposure ends at your percentage, because it doesn’t,” Wayne told Fortune.

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